Maine is known for its growing craft beer scene. Now a unique tour bus is making its way through the streets of Portland to showcase the city's ever expanding craft brewery business. WMTW News 8's Thema Ponton talks with The Forecaster's Will Graff about the tour.

A UNIQUE TOUR BUS MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE STREETS OF PORTLAND IS SHOWCASING THE CITY'S EVER EXPANDING CRAFT BREWERY BUSINESS. THE FORECASTER'S WILL GRAFF... ....TAKES A CLOSER LOOK. PORTLAND - From beneath the bill of his PORTLAND - From beneath the bill of his hat, Don Littlefield eyed his students in the large rear-view mirror of the bright green bus he was driving last week. They're mostly quiet; maybe a little unsure. "Welcome class," he said, introducing himself through an intercom system, mimicking the distinctive mechanical voice of an air airline pilot. "I'm your tour guide and guidance counselor today. And this is Lenny." Lenny is the Maine Brew Bus. Reinstated after a decade in the Kennebunk schools, Lenny is "now on to more noble adventures," Littlefield said, given new life as a tour bus for Maine's rapidly growing craft brewery scene. After gently nudging a telephone pole while maneuvering out of a parking spot outside the back entrance to the Thirsty Pig on Market Street, the bus was off on the Dirigo Trail Tour. Littlefield steered the bus down Franklin Street and over to Forest Avenue. The tour visits three of Maine's leading breweries: Allagash Brewing Co. off Riverside Street, where the visit begins with a tour and ends with a tasting; then to Maine Beer Co. in Freeport for a beer sampler and snack, and finally to Rising Tide Brewing Co. in East Bayside, for a final tasting. Littlefield, who also works an overnight supervisor shift at UPS, starts the trip with an icebreaker. He asks everyone, starting with the back of the bus and moving forward, to share their name, what they do and their favorite beer style. Accuracy on the first two questions is not required. On this trip, their names ranged from Taco and Adam to Valerie and Carmanjello. It was also a diverse group that included a New York City chef, a fantasy football commissioner, a veterinarian and a "professional couch surfer." Most were Mainers, including a small group from the Saco area and a couple from Hallowell. Another couple was from New Jersey. All appeared to be in their mid 20s to late 30s. And while Littlefield led the tour alone, he is usually joined by the founder of the Brew Bus, Zach Poole, a 32- year-old, part-time physical education teacher in the Saco School Department. Poole started the company - which celebrated its first anniversary Labor Day weekend and hosts five different Maine beer tours in Cumberland and York counties on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - after taking notice of the "craft beer boom," not only in Maine, but across the country. "There's all these breweries popping up and I wanted to show people to them, teach them about the beer and learn myself," Poole said. Maine has about 40 breweries, with another 18 planned in the next year and half, he said. That explosion is driving people's interest in craft beer and "beer tourism." Another beer tour bus called Maine Beer Tours also opened in 2012 and offers tours on Friday and Saturday. In addition to the the scheduled tours, the Brew Bus also hosts private tours, and when cruise ships are in town, it meets passengers as they step off the ships. Prices for the tours range from about $40 to $75. And while there is drinking involved in the tour, Poole said it's not about getting drunk. "I'm very happy with the little amount of intoxication we've had. I'm proud of it," he said. "This is not a party bus, it's educational. And while I want people to have a good time, I also want to feel good about where I'm dropping them off." Into the Allagash At the first stop, Mike Guarracino of Allagash leads a tour of the brewery, which expanded this year. He takes the crowd through the brewery and out back to an adjacent building that hosts the barrel room, where the brewers age dozens of experimental beers. The tour enng of four of the Belgiard, the group piled baterstate 295 to Freeporway, Littleng history and statistics, ries have increased prolooning from 4.1 millioen launches intstudent's knowledge of into two teams, left sire is kept, altntirely clear who wins. Pria draws from fi, geography and art, Littles questions li called?" and "What is Later, he admit. At Maine

Hillary Clinton did not have a State Department email account while she served as America's top diplomat, a senior state department official said Monday, and instead used a personal email account during her four years on the job.